Category Archives: books

Well… almost. My latest book for children is the second book set in a village with startling resemblance to Magura, which in the books is called Fân.

Dahlia’s Pet Detectives (Dalia si micii detectivi) will be in the spotlight at the end of next week (Thursday 31st May, Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd June) when my new book is launched at Bucuresti’s Bookfest (Romexpo).

If you read Floss the lost puppy, you’ll recognise the village of Fân (Hay) where Dahlia and Chip are neighbours and schoolmates of Thea and Tudor Thimble. A completely new story, but set in the same Transylvanian village, high up in the Carpathian Mountains.

Grab the chance to get my book cheap, in time for Mos Craciun, with the lovely discounts at librarie.ro! The online bookshop is almost giving the book away – a lifelong present for the cost of a couple of coffees. How could you resist?

“You lend us your sharp eyes and understanding. You make us understand ourselves better, you make us better understand you. You give us importance by understanding us better than we sometimes do. Your book gives us hope in a world where we have lost heaven. ”

“A real painter in touch with the pure essence of things and beings. I found myself immersed into a dialogue with you, dear Arabella, about solitude, the energy that comes from living close to nature, the joy of being present to the sounds of the forest.”

“I simply love the way in which it is written, the fact that the words can make me actually SEE/FEEL your world, is just brilliant!”

“I’ve appreciated both your humour and your self-irony or the finger pointed at various strange characters you’ve come across … I got carried away…”

“The book is unlike anything I’ve read, full of emotion, in which the author puts her heart out for you, so it’s impossible not to be moved. And the language is so normal, alive, it’s like a friend whom you haven’t seen in a long time.”

“I had a ‘white’ night last night. I couldn’t take my hands off your book. It made me laugh, it made me cry or both at the same time. Regardless of what this country has been giving you, I am sure I speak on behalf of all of your Romanian friends when saying: “Thank you for what YOU give us.”

“Honest, deeply sensitive, beautifully expressed. What a fabulous book this is.”

“…the quality of your writing is top-notch and I adore the naturalness of your use of metaphor: ‘longing for dreamless oblivion cradled in the city’s roar’, ‘I’m a molecule on the skin of the earth’ and your precise punctuation, which gives your writing such a lovely flow.”

“Really, it’s wonderful – you’ve basically opened the door to a different way of seeing and understanding Romania.”

“…fascinating, and it reads just as you talk, flows so naturally. … Your chapter on Ginny was painful to read, powerful and compelling as the reader joins you every step of the way as you navigate the darkest of times.”

After six years in Magura, I wrote a book about life in the village, why I came here, why I stayed. Non-fiction, it’s all true; factual as well as a little philosophical. A patchwork of impressions, stories, portraits and essays all written from my window on the world, 1,000 metres up in the Carpathians. One chapter told the story of a stray puppy who came to my door and begged to stay. Starving, and weighed down by balls of ice on his feet and face, he inveigled his way into my house and my heart until I found him a permanent home. The adventure wasn’t without its dramas, but all’s well that ends well.

This year, in November 2017, Booklet Fiction will publish a book called Floss the lost puppy (Floss catelusul pierdut). This is exactly, 100%, purely the story of my stray puppy… but I have turned myself into a Romanian girl and her family (much more interesting) who have to overcome some challenges to save the lost puppy.

It’s a bilingual book, in English and Romanian, to help children of 7+ to learn English (or Romanian) and perhaps to offer them some new ideas about owning dogs.

Now, when you read it, you can imagine the Thimble family living here in Magura (called Fân in the book) and sparing the life of the little black dog who begs for mercy at their door.

I’ve updated the books page on this site with two new entries on the non-fiction page and an interloping entry on the fiction page. If you’re coming to Transylvania, or have been here, and want to read more, here are some cracking books to buy or borrow. Here’s the non-fiction page to start with.

Limba româna

Life in the Carpathians

Magura is one of Romania's prettiest villages, 1,000 metres up in the mountains, in the Piatra Craiului National Park. Magura and neighbouring village Pestera are the only two villages in any Romanian national park. Life is sweet, the air is clean, and the welcome is warm.

Follow blog via email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.